Following up on our last post, the good people at Emerica are so gracious as to hook us up for Vegan Kicks’ second shoe contest!  Our blogging is erratic right now, but we’re trying to make every one count!  We are psyched to be giving away one pair of Emerica Tempster (green or black), featured above and below.  This is one out of a bunch of Emerica’s vegan shoes (see our previous post on their newest offerings), and we all thought it was appropriate that this be the one, considering Ed’s longstanding vegan lifestyle.  I know that these shoes won’t be for everyone, but I know all the skaters out there will be chomping at the bits to get a pair.  So, onto the contest!

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We’re back!  Sorry for the hiatus.  Wish we could bring you all the news, but what can we say, we’ve been slacking.  Keep checking back for updates and goodies.  You won’t be disappointed.  And if you can, please help!  If you see something interesting, or have something fresh to report, please post on our Facebook wall or Tweet at us.

Today we are happy to bring to you another string of vegan shoes brought to you buy our friends at Emerica as part of their new spring collection 2013.  Kudos to them as they are one of the few skateboard shoe companies actively touting their vegan credentials.

As you can see above and below, these are some old standbys.  The Hsu is back in canvas, though I’m not crazy about this olive/black colorway (how about the plain black?).  Ed Templeton is back with the Tempster in black/grey and green.  Controversial pick with the lime green, but I’m sure some of you will appreciate it.  Too bad there is no printed graphic outside on the black model, but you are treated to some artwork from Ed on inside panels.

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Hey everyone!  Sorry for being radio silent for so long.  In case some of you didn’t think it was real, the above photograph was submitted by our 2012 Keep Contest winner Jon Clark of Ontario, Canada.  Jon got himself a pair of Elias in black Moleskin (and is modeling it quite nicely might I add!).  The dark high top with synthetic suede is suitable even for harsh winters.

Also, let’s give a big up to Jon for rocking his first pair of fully vegan kicks.  My man had a similar journey as a lot of us.  When confronted with the truth about our treatment of other animals, he had to make a change.  His transition to an animal free lifestyle is an ongoing process, but wasn’t too difficult for him as he had a lot of support around him.

Oh, and might I add, he took this photo while partaking in an Anti-Fur demonstration in his hood!  Good job man!

Thanks Jon and everyone who entered the contest.  We will be having more to be sure.  Be sure to contact us if you have any ideas or suggestions, especially if you are a vendor who wants to get some exposure!

The Nike Free series fields a number of really nice, functional sneakers of the running variety.  The Nike Free Huarache Light happens to be one of my favorites at the moment.  Combining the Nike Free technology with the 90′s throwback Huarache upper, both styles are distinct but combine effortlessly.  The Light features a mesh upper with synthetic overlays, and a distinct plastic ringed lacing system.

Available in the three pictured colors (neutral grey, black, and light black team orange) at Premier.

Pictured above is the Maddox by Novacas.  They finally got in the sneaker game (what took so long?).  Not a bad initial offering, though I would have tried to target a lower price point – MSRP $194.95?!!!.  That’s bold. I can’t find any information on the materials.  The faux leather does look pretty nice, and I can attest to the high quality of Novacas shoes generally.  But it’s kinda hard to justify the price tag on a pair of sneakers like this.  You can get away with wearing these out, but why not just buy a nice pair of saddle shoes from Brave Gentleman or desert boots from Good Guys?

Novacas Maddox available in black or grey at Moo Shoes (on sale now for $129.99).

Bogs – Classic Ultra Mid 2 (Black) (also available in Classic Ultra High available at Zappos

Today’s vegan boots will not win any awards for style.  I can picture some of you are either shaking your heads or making a sour face right now.  Stooop.  If you’ve been here before, you know how we do.  We put out the good and sometimes the ugly (never bad).  Vegan shoes come in all shapes and forms, and we have to embrace the diversity!  How slick do you need a black rubber boot to be anyway?  When you are trudging through the snow, or you work outdoors in winter weather, how much of this does it all matter?    If you really want to go for style over substance, I would check this list out.

I was downright psyched when I started reading about the feature rich Bogs Classic Ultra Mid 2 (for men).  It’s waterproof, with a 4 way booty construction with a natural rubber overlay.  It’s warm because it’s got 7 mm of neotech fiber.  And it’s comfy because it has a European last – narrower in the heel, wider in the toe.  Sure beats a plain old rubber rain boot like this one.

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Nike has released a new “graphic” pack for the Roshe Run.  One of my favorite Nikes, this new set features subtle floral graphics and some bright colors.  Of course, the upper is

Available in blue, yellow, and green at Nike Store.

UPDATE 1/19/13: I’ve been informed by Vans that these are NOT VEGAN.  Sucks, but at least it clears things up.  A lot of us, me included, just assumed these guys were animal free.  Apologies for jumping the gun, hope not too many of you went and bought some.  On the bright side, Vans reiterated that the Rowley 99 in black/synthetic are vegan.  You can get them at The House.

Thanks Mike for this great tip.  We heard from Vans a while back that the Rowley 99′s in the black colorway (limited edition) was vegan, but it looks like they’ve reissued this classic skate shoe, now just the Geoff Rowley Pro in three different colorways: black/white/red, navy/white/royal, and red/white/grey.  We haven’t received confirmation from Vans whether any of them are vegan for sure, but I have word from several good sources that at the very least the upper is synthetic.  Upon a visual inspection, you can clearly tell that the material is all that matte synthetic leather that is common in our circles.  Whether the glues are vegan are another matter.  In any event I want to tread cautiously since there’s been a lot of contrary assertions out there that Rowley is not vegan, his shoes are not, etc.

I have already contacted Vans and will update when I receive info from them.  If you are confident in your convictions to buy now, they are available at Vans.com.

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Happy New Year!  First, just wanted to say thank you to all you guys.  Thanks for reading, commenting, emailing me, and being part of this site.  I hope that we can continue to bring some good solid recommendations and keep carrying the vegan shoe flag, whatever that is.  All in all, 2012 was a great year for us – we had our first giveaway, and more readers than ever.  Let’s keep it jumping in the year twenty thirteen!

To kick off the new year, we present – more boots.  Now, I will admit that my previous two posts on boots may not have featured the most stylish boots out there right now.  But we have a diverse audience, so we’re looking out for everyone out there, even you “hippies” out there.  We know you’re out there, and we stand with you.

But today we’re going to push some more “fashionable” boots out there for those who wear them not necessarily for the weather.  Girls got their boots in a zillion different iterations, so why can’t we guys have some fun with this as well?  Here are a few of my choice picks for those of you who still can’t get enough winter stylins.

The always classic Doc Marten 8 Eye Boot, looking super clean here, available at Zappos and Planet Shoes.  Also available in Cherry Red and Purple Cambridge.

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SEASON’S GREETINGS EVERYONE!  For all of you who celebrate the holiday, Merry Christmas!  And Happy Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and all the other religious or non-religious celebrations that are going on in our midst.  No matter your faith (or lack thereof), this is the time of year in many parts of the world where some of us get to take a break from the grind and spend some time with our loved ones.

The holiday season has also been associated with crass commercialization, especially pronounced during the rush for “deals” right after Thanksgiving.  Fortunately, there’s been some push back, with some voices in the wilderness calling for a halt in the madness.  Nothing has exemplified this movement better than Adbuster’s new campaign called “Buy Nothing Day” and “Buy Nothing Christmas.”  You may recall that Adbusters, provided the spark that led to the Occupy movement with their iconic image of the ballerina on the Wall Street Bull.

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